A Separate Peace

Square Pegs in Round Holes The novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, tells the story of the narrator, Gene Forrester, and the tribulations he and his friends partake in. None of these friends compare to one such as Elwin Lepellier, also known as Leper. At first glance Leper appears to be an insignificant character and is not expected to play an important role. Look at the meaning of the word “leper”; a leper is a person who is shunned or rejected by others for reasons that can be either social or even moral. This indicates a deeper meaning to his character that the reader only gets a taste of at the opening of the book. Leper, extraneous to the reader at the start, proves to be essential to major events along the storyline. To begin with, Leper is not the same throughout the course of the novel. Initially, he is seen as a bit shy and quirky, but as the story goes on, his personality transforms drastically. Enlisting in the war has a considerable effect on him; Gene discusses it with Finny and Brinker: “Leper’s not the little rabbit we used to know any more” (Knowles 147). He is not the timid Leper who does not talk much and is drawn to snails and beaver dams. He is the Leper that had “escaped” from the war—the Leper who went psycho. When introverted,

The view the reader has of Leper is altered from him being farouche and peaceful to a deranged, senseless person. Even after this dramatic transformation, he still manages to keep his unique talent for being able to read deeper into matters of life. He is the one who is able to grasp Gene’s true “savageness” underneath, whereas Gene’s own best friend does not or chooses not to notice it. None can escape such icy tendrils, not Leper or any of his friends, so when one is touched by the virus known as war no one can stop the pain from